Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Saint Paul- Events of the Year 1851

Everything is so partisan today

The Goodhue-Cooper Rencontre

On January 16, Goodhue (James Goodhue-printer and publisher of The Pioneer Press) printed a savage and bitter article on “Absentee Office Holders, “ in which he inveighed, with all the ferocity of his pen, against col. Mitchell and Judge Cooper, for absenteeism, etc. On the latter, he was particularly severe, using such terms as, “a sot,” “a brute” “an ass” a “ Profligate vagabond” etc. The article closed a s follows:“Feeling some resentment for the wrongs of our Territory has so long suffered by these men, pressing upon us like a dispensation of wrath- a judgement- a curse- a plague- unequalled since the hour when Egypt went lousy, we sat down to write this article with some bitterness, but our very gall to what they deserve.”

Of course, such an article as this could not fail to produce a personal collision between Goodhue and the friends Cooper, (he himself was absent,) and scarcely had the paper been distributed through the town, ere it bore its natural fruits in a rencontre on the streets. Eye-witnesses give a minute account of it, in affidavits afterward published, but it can only be briefly recited here.

Goodhue had been in the Legislature, and started down the street, in company with a friend. After leaving the building a few steps, they met Joseph Cooper, A brother of Judge Cooper., who at once advanced and struck at Goodhue. Both then drew pistols, “Col. Goodhue (one account says) having a single barrel pistol, and Cooper having a revolver.” Some parlaying ensued, when Mr. Cooper declared, “I’ll blow your G—d d--- brains out.”

Sheriff Lull here ran up, and, commanding the peace, disarmed the parties, but it seems Cooper still retained a knife, and Goodhue another pistol, with which they renewed hostilities. Some one endeavored to hold Goodhue, which gave Cooper an opportunity to stab him in the abdomen slightly. Goodhue the broke away, and shot Cooper, inflicting quite a serious wound on him. Cooper again rushed on Goodhue, and stabbed him in the back, on the left side. Both parties were the led away, and their wounds dressed, neither being fatally injured….

Taken From A History Of Saint Paul to 1875 Fletcher J. Williams Minnesota Historical Society PressFirst published in 1876

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Death And Taxes

Are you tired of those junior-Grover Nordquists-in-training on the radio play-pretending "Taxpayer Watchdog" by railing against publicly-funded green roofs and flower pots?

Are you sick of those "Conserve"-atives in your life taking on the POWER ELITES over money for light-rail trains?

Are you bored with Republican-loving Libertarians who love Republicans and can't stop loving their Republican government?

Well, keep reminding them How much the war they wanted so badly is costing them and maybe they will stop for 5 minutes.

Even better, direct them to this amazing poster, "Death and Taxes, A Visual Guide To Where Your Tax Dollars Go". It's an amazing piece art and a terrific and simple resource that breaks down the 2007 Federal Discretionary budget. Non-Discretionary like Social Security is not on there. The Federal Deficit is so large that it can't fit on the graph. Much of the funding for the war in Iraq is not included in the President’s annual budget. It is instead proposed as supplemental funding by the President and voted on by Congress. The graph is split into Military and Non-military. 632 Billion (64%) for Military(missiles and such) and 350 Billion (36%) for Non-military (flower pots and such). Go. Look at it. Zoom in. Slap your forehead in befuddlement. And, remember the names of the people running your government.

“Death and Taxes” is a representational graph of the federal discretionary budget. The amount of money that is spent at the discretion of your elected representatives in Congress. Basically, your federal income taxes.

The data is from the President’s annual budget proposal but it must pass both the House and Senate before it goes into effect.

While “Death and Taxes” contains an enormous amount of information, the purpose of the graph is to generate questions. The right questions. Your taxes are being spent in your name and mostly likely you are unaware exactly what they are used for. This “Death and Taxes” will hopefully answer that “what” question.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Would You Like To Hear The Specials?

Local #8: Wicker Park, Chicago"Food As Substitute"

Today is Local # 8 Day. If you get it, let me know what you think. If this were the film version; you'd have to play The Specials' version of "Enjoy Yourself" for the first 4-page scene. And then, the music stops right on Page 4 panel 4, when Megan says "Would You Like To Hear The Specials?"

Monday, February 19, 2007

Gangland Samples

Do you remember 1997?

Sure, we all do. But to help me remember, here are some try-out pages for Gangland (Vertigo). I unearthed these and many other pieces of forgetable puking eyesores from my vaults.

Gawd, has it really been 10 years? I did these when I was a junior in artschool. I did these for Axel Alonso when he was at Vertigo. He was the first editor I began showing my work to. As you might expect, Axel was extremely generous and supportive with his time and critiques for me. Me, on the other hand..er... hurm.

These are the most respectable of the bunch. Everything else from this period is awful. My storytelling was nonexistent. I thought putting a whole bunch of lines on the page would get me a job.

I can't throw these away. I'll have to find some people to give me a case of beer for each of these old pages.

It's true (atleast for me) that you have to draw a 1000 pages before you get good.

Friday, February 16, 2007

Local #8 Release and Beyond

Exciting News. Local #8: Wicker Park, Chicago is schedueled to arrive in stores next week, February 21. As for the first 6 months of 2007 for me, things look OK. I should be finished with my Graphic novel project by August-ish. Local will likely be done too. American Virgin, with my inks, is getting collected for a second volume in July. After that, hmm, I'll have to find something to do.

Don't forget, you can also still buy my first graphic novel, Giant Robot Warriors, at Khepri for only $9.05! You can also purchase single issues of Local and American Virgin at Kehpri.So, yeah, go to Khepri for your comics!

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

In A Different Place

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

The Tax Cuts were a lie, but you already knew that.

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- HSBC Holdings, the world's third-largest bank and one of the most aggressive players in the U.S. market for low-quality mortgages, has sent a chill through the financial world with news that its bad-debt charges will be 20% higher than forecast.

HBC, is the largest, but not the first, lender to warn that higher interest rates in the United States are starting to take a toll on borrowers -- especially those with poor credit -- who bought homes using mortgages with low introductory rates during the real-estate boom. That trend has spelled trouble for many homeowners who believed the rising value of real-estate markets would enable them to refinance their mortgages after a year or two into fixed-rate loans before rates climbed.

The news on the housing market isn’t breaking news. There was a housing “boom” for a short period, beginning in the late 90’s and reaching a climax in 2001-2002, before declining with inflated home prices and too much unsold homes on the market.

People doing well could borrow the equity out of their home. New homes were in full force; Condos and new urbanism were sweeping the nation. Older Baby boomers who were feeling comfortable were either building new additions or buying second or third homes (or building second homes). Speculators were buying homes and condos just to immediately flip them over. Because, why? Prices were way out of wack (in “hot” areas), and people were WILLING TO PAY THEM. Atleast, for awhile.

But, what SHOULD be breaking news is the deception that people bought their homes because of a tax cut, a Bush tax cut.

We bought our home in 2003, and I had a sneaky feeling that the bubble would deflate soon and I wanted to get in while the gettin’ was still good. Some smarty-pants have been saying that there is no bubble and it is only the freaky housing markets on the coasts, Like Boston, New York, San Francisco, etc, that are throwing things off.

People like me are NOT REALLY SUPPOSED to be buying homes. As an artist with kids, I have an unstable income hovering around the lowest group (just think low) and we bought an extremely modest and reasonable house (I won’t say, but for my argument’s sake, let’s just say under 200k).

Let me just say, FOR THE RECORD, I did NOT buy my house because of a tax cut.

Think really hard back to the past, and recall that Republicans controlled the government, for 5 years. There was a “Bush Economic Boom” advertised to the people for years, and the housing market primarily drove that, as they said. A lot of people were buying homes. A lot of people who don’t have a lot of money were buying homes. A lot of people who don’t have a lot of money were buying a lot of things.

One annoying factoid crammed down our throats was that the Housing boom was evidence of the miraculous success of the Bush tax cuts. We all see, now, finally, that that was another piece of Republican marketing.

Thank god our Mortgage broker steered us away from those ARMS (Adjustable Rate Mortgages). Those are risky and hopefully the Democrats or SOMEONE will get the regulations on those. Do you hear that Libertarians? Some Regulations are GOOD and they protect honest American citizens trying to safely and fairly purchase a miniscule piece of the American dream against predatory lenders.It's called a level playing field. There, I said it; now go back to supporting whatever it is left that you still believe in.

ARMS allowed people making $50,000 a year to buy $300,000 homes. Why are these homes $300,000 in the first place? People bought homes, the rates adjusted, and now many people can’t afford the homes they own because their wages are stagnant. The money you make is not keeping up with all the crap you have to buy. Traditionally, we’re renters, but interest rates allowed us to buy a home that was comparable to renting a 3-bedroom apartment.

A “conservative” (whatever that means anymore) will tell me that it’s all because these low-income people are making poor choices. There’s only a kernel of truth in that as the risk and benefits are stacked against them and any “poor choices” they make are magnified and will be devastating to their lives. If someone who is well off makes a poor choice, they have a softer landing. For some people, if you lose the job or get hurt, wham, you're in big trouble. The Rebublican’s line of thinking, when stuck in a philosophical rut, will be, “Well, those people just shouldn’t be buying homes.” Poppycock. “Those people” buying homes are good for the Republican way of life, the community, and the American economy. If it wasn’t, then why do they brag about our home purchases in their State Of The Union addresses?I did not buy my house because of a Bush Tax cut, especially a $100 cut, or whatever piddly little thing it was. I, and many others, bought homes because of interest rates. And personally, we bought our house the old fashioned way—saving all the nickels and dimes.

People may have bought an extra pair of pants because of their tax cut—but not a house.

The “Bush Boom” was buoyed by people like me doing what we’re not supposed to do—Buying homes with almost nothing—despite his tax cut. The Republicans were busy helping the top %1 and their inheritances.

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Comic Book classes MCAD 2007

I'll be teaching an 8-week comic class, on saturdays, starting February 24 at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Info here. Sign up. I may also teach an 8-class comic class for young teens this summer in June. Look for that info on the MCAD Continuing studies Summer course site.

This course explores the expansive world of comic book stories and drawing styles. While learning the fundamental aspects of comic book creation and design, students explore the diverse worlds of traditional and contemporary comics. Students will create original characters and story lines and will be introduced to techniques, materials and disciplines used to create professional comic art. Students will learn the following skills: Layout, penciling, lettering and inking. Demonstrations and class critiques will supplement studio work. A complete materials list will be distributed at the first class meeting. Basic drawing skills are strongly recommended. This course is open to students ages 13 and older.